


Call this place our home

by blueorangecrush



Category: Men's Hockey RPF
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-01
Updated: 2020-01-01
Packaged: 2021-02-26 04:21:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,211
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22070335
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blueorangecrush/pseuds/blueorangecrush
Summary: Five times Zdeno Chara uses his real estate license to help someone find a place, plus one time he opens his own home.
Comments: 5
Kudos: 41
Collections: Hockey Holidays 2019





	Call this place our home

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Maeve_of_Winter](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Maeve_of_Winter/gifts).

> So, Zdeno Chara, licensed realtor is one of my favorite little bits of hockey trivia, and I love the idea of him using his powers for good.
> 
> I make no claim as to the accuracy of ANYthing else in this fic. I'm posting it as gen but it could maybe be read as Chara/McAvoy if you squint just right?
> 
> Marchy's house is inspired by the one in [What I Want and What You Give](https://archiveofourown.org/works/5810197) by waffles_007, which is my very favorite Bruins fic ever and highly recommended. ;)
> 
> The title is from "North" by Sleeping At Last

**-1-**

Zee’s never been one to sit idle – even when his body forces him to inactivity for a bit, his mind keeps going, and he has to keep busy.

He looks around Boston, the city that loved and embraced him, the city that is _home_ now and has been for a while. And thinks that maybe what he wants to be able to do is help other people find home, find where they belong and settle in. So he starts learning about houses, about real estate, studies for the realtor exam while he rehabs his knee.

And when Marchy’s looking for a new place to live, something different, Zee knows what to suggest. It might seem out of character for a little guy with a big mouth, but Zee finds a beautiful built-to-last old-fashioned colonial-style house, complete with columns and perfect hedges, and Marchy loves it. Turns out this is exactly his kind of place.

(And maybe Zee should’ve figured it, he’s learned some American history and what was Boston’s own John Adams if not, infamously, a little guy with a big mouth?)

Anyway, it was perfect for Marchy, even if Zee would have to remember to carefully duck through the doorways every time he came to visit.

**-2-**

In the off-season, Zee gets a text from David Backes. He’s thinking about a change, Boston’s one of the teams he’s looking at, what can Zee tell him about the area?

It’s a good, friendly back and forth for a bit – Zee can tell Backes likes what he’s hearing, is really thinking about coming to Boston, and really wants to settle in and make a home there. And a house wouldn’t be a home, to Backes, without animals. He fostered dogs and cats in St. Louis and he wants to do it in Boston, too, and wants to make sure he finds a house that is set up for that.

Zee knows places, and people. He can definitely set Backes up with that. By the time Backes flies out to sign a contract with the Bruins, make this thing official, Zee’s got about two dozen house listings ready to go over with him. They’ll probably cut the list in half or so to look at in person, once Backes has his wife fly out.

**-3-**

When Zee recovers and is back on the team, he’s paired with one of the recent draft picks. Brandon wasn’t even born yet when Zee was drafted to the NHL, and people ask them about it all the time, like they think this is strange, like Brandon’s too young and Zee’s too old for them to have anything in common. Which is – stupid. Ignorant. They’re both in the NHL, that’s a lot they have in common with each other right there.

And they’re also both tall. Brandon was used to being the tallest guy on the team until he came to play with Zee. That’s another big deal (whoops, pun not intended) the two of them have in common, in all kinds of everyday ways that people who aren’t quite so tall don’t think about.

So when Brandon gets the all-clear from management to get a place, Zee reminds Brandon that he’s actually _licensed_ to help with this, and besides, he knows from personal experience the kind of stuff that Brandon will need, stuff Brandon wouldn’t maybe have thought of because he’s never lived on his own before.

Starting with two words: wall oven.

So much better to be able to grab stuff out of the oven without some kind of complicated back and knee bending. Zee doesn’t know how he would’ve managed without _his_ wall oven while he was rehabbing his knee. Sure, he could have just lived off of GrubHub but that’s boring and probably not even that healthy.

There’s other stuff they can do to adjust to Brandon’s height, stuff that Zee’s had done in his own house – a cooktop that can be raised and lowered depending on who’s using it, drawer dishwashers that are raised up well off the floor, making sure the showerhead is high enough to be comfortable, all that kind of stuff.

Zee wants Brandon settled in, happy, comfortable. He’s glad he knows how to help make that happen.

**-4-**

Sometimes it’s not even his current teammates, or potential soon-to-be teammates, that call him for real estate advice.

Boych leaves Zee this long rambling message about black mold and his kids getting sick and what the fuck does he have to do to actually find a place that isn’t a contaminated mess.

Zee calls him back, calms him down, but still wonders why two years later Boych is calling _him_ about this whole mess.

“Because I trust you, Zee. You’re still the smartest guy I know from hockey, and I know you know your stuff, and you’re not going to fucking _poison_ me even if we’re not on the same team anymore.”

Zee’s not sure if he should book a flight to New York or just drive there. The thought of both Boston _and_ New York traffic in the same day is a little much, but so is dealing with Logan and whatever awaits on the other end.

He ends up taking the train – good third option. And he helps Boych, and his wife and kids and dogs, get settled into a rental while talking him through how to find someone who will build them a new place from scratch.

**-5-**

Charlie Coyle’s from Weymouth, so it seems like could just settle back into his off-season place when he gets traded from Minnesota.

Zee knows it isn’t that simple. The off-season place is basically a cabin. It’s set up for summer, not for winter.

“Well, you’ve got a couple options,” he tells Charlie. “You can sublet or stay with someone else on the team and get them to fix the house back up for winters, or you can look for a new place that’s already set up for year-round.”

Charlie’s good with the subletting-and-fixing option, and Zee’s got a list of trusted contractors to call ready to go by the next morning.

**+1**

A new season starts up and they’ve got another new Charlie – Charlie McAvoy – skating next to Zee this year. 

He’s a great guy, good d-partner, and a lot like Brandon, he doesn’t seem as young as he is. 

But he’s young enough that when he gets the official “get a place” notice, he seems uncertain.

As Zee’s done so many times before, he gets ready to sit down with Charlie, ask about what Charlie wants in a place – location, layout, any special features that are important.

When he brings Charlie over for dinner and asks about it, Charlie just shrugs and says, “I don’t know, I don’t feel ready for all this.”

Zee nods. “So…would it be better if instead of your own place, you had someone with you?”

“Yeah,” Charlie says. “Yeah, I’d like that.”

“Do you want to stay with me, this year?”

“Yes,” Charlie says more firmly. “Yes, I do.”

“Okay, then. Let me give you the tour, I’ve got a couple extra rooms and you can pick the one you like.”

“Thanks, Zee.” Charlie smiles, and the worry fades from his face.


End file.
